Match recaps: U.S. leads 10 1/2 to 5 1/2 on Day 2

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Sergio Garcia didn’t make another octuple-bogey Friday, but he still struggled at Augusta National. Garcia shot 78 to set a dubious record in the defense of his emotional victory at last year’s Masters. Garcia’s 78 on Friday gave him a two-day total of 15-over 159, the highest 36-hole score ever shot by a defending champion. His 81 matched the highest score by a defending champion who missed the cut. Nick Faldo also shot 81 in 1997. Garcia’s 13 at the par-5 15th hole, which matched the highest single-hole score in tournament history, sealed his fate. He hit five shots into the pond that fronts the green on the hole nicknamed Firethorn. On Friday, he made six bogeys and a double-bogey. A birdied at the last allowed him to break 160 for the week. He’ll need to find a way to pass the time this weekend as he waits to return to Augusta National to slip the Green Jacket on this year’s champion. This is the 11th time in Masters history that the defending champion missed the cut, and the second consecutive year. Danny Willett missed the cut last year. The cut fell at 5-over 149, the lowest since 2015. Fifty-three of the 87 players who started this week will play on the weekend. The odd number of weekend participants means that an honorary marker will be used in the first tee time. That role is traditionally filled by club member Jeff Knox, who famously beat Rory McIlroy when they were paired in the 2014 Masters. U.S. Amateur runner-up Doug Ghim was the only one of the six amateurs to make the cut. The Texas senior, who made two eagles Thursday, shot 72-76 to clinch low-amateur honors. Among the players to miss the cut by a single shot were past champions Charl Schwartzel, Sandy Lyle and Jose Maria Olazabal. Here’s a look at other notables to miss the cut: — Thomas Pieters (73-78), who finished fourth last year in his Masters debut. — Patrick Cantlay (75-76), winner of this season’s Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. — Shubhankar Sharma (77-74), who received a special invitation to play this year’s Masters. — Danny Willett (75-76), the 2016 Masters champion. He’s missed the cut in both Masters starts since his win. — Patton Kizzire (76-76), a two-time winner this season. — Joaquin Niemann (76-77), the world’s No. 1 amateur. This is his final tournament as an amateur. — Mark O’Meara (78-81), the 1998 Masters champion. He said this will be his last Masters.

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AUGUSTA, Ga. – The last time we saw Tiger Woods on a golf course in Georgia with ties to the great Bobby Jones, Woods was being trailed by an uproarious throng that had been whipped into a frenzy by his impending victory. They trailed Woods with cell phones held aloft, hoping to capture footage of a victory that not long ago seemed unfathomable. This week, Woods is looking for a similar result to the one he had last September at the TOUR Championship. The scene would be much different this time, though, even if he did replicate his 12-shot victory from 1997. Patrons cannot bring their cell phones onto the grounds of Augusta National. And the ever-present Pinkerton security guards would ensure that the gallery ropes lining the final fairway remained intact. But that incredible scene at East Lake, even if it may never be replicated, also is helpful this week, for it reminds him that he is capable of winning on the PGA TOUR. That’s the biggest difference from last year, when Woods arrived at Augusta National on the heels of two promising finishes but never came close to contending. Woods’ top-fives at last year’s Valspar Championship and Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard proved that Woods’ latest comeback was the real deal. But those were just close calls. He was still in the midst of an injury-extended winless drought that had endured since 2013. “I just feel like I’ve improved a lot over the past 12, 14 months, but more than anything I’ve proven to myself that I can play at this level again,â€� Woods said. “I’ve worked my way back into one of the players that can win events.â€� Not only did Woods win last year, but he also finished second and sixth in the past two majors. He’s two wins short of Sam Snead’s PGA TOUR record. He needs four more major titles to tie Jack Nicklaus’ majors mark. The Masters is the major that has most defined Woods’ career. His win in 1997 was groundbreaking. Then he completed the Tiger Slam here four years later. He went back-to-back with another win a year later. And his improbable chip-in in 2005, when he needed every shot to dispatch a determined Chris DiMarco, remains one of the most memorable shots in Masters history. But that victory from 14 years ago remains his last win at Augusta National. He hasn’t won a major in nearly 11 years. While he used to use his length to decimate the risk-reward par-5s on Alister Mackenzie’s design, Woods now has to rely on his guile and experience. He still averages more than 300 yards per tee shot, but that’s no longer an eye-popping mark. It’s just slightly above average. Woods ranks 44th in driving distance this season. Related: Tee Times, Rounds 1 & 2 | Power Rankings | Masters notebook: Molinari returns as contender | Tales of Tiger’s equipment The putter is another club that separated Woods from his competition during his prime. Woods is 43 now, though, and it’s well-documented that the aging process impacts players’ ability to read greens. He ranks 74th in Strokes Gained: Putting this season. The last competitive shot that we saw from Woods was a missed 4-footer to lose his quarterfinal match to Lucas Bjerregaard at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play. Woods may not be able to regain the distance advantage of his youth, but he thinks he can become a premier putter again, especially on the greens of Augusta National that require so much experience to read properly. “The hardest part is I just can’t practice like I used to. My back gets sore. I just can’t log the in the time that I used to,â€� Woods said. “I’ve worked on my putting, and when I have, I’ve putted well. … I just can’t do all things all the time anymore.â€� He’s still one of the game’s best iron players, even if the clubs have gotten longer. But contending at the Masters, which used to be an annual occurrence for Woods, is no longer a guarantee. He made last year’s cut with just a shot to spare, keeping alive his streak of 19 consecutive cuts made at Augusta National. He has never missed the Masters cut as a professional. He has finished outside the top 15 in three of his past four Masters. That’s more finishes outside the top 15 than he had in his first 15 Masters as a pro (two). Last year was just the third time as a pro that Woods failed to break par in the first three rounds at Augusta National. He can never be counted out at Augusta National, though.

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CARNOUSTIE, Scotland — Whether the turf is sun-baked or rain-soaked, brown or green, no matter if players attack with driver or proceed cautiously with irons, Carnoustie showed Thursday in The Open Championship that it can hold its own. In what might be the easiest conditions of the week, Kevin Kisner took only 22 putts, one of them for a long eagle that sparked his 5-under 66. It gave him a one-shot lead and little more than bragging rights in the house of stars where he is staying. One shot behind was a collection of players with little history in golf’s biggest events, including Erik Van Rooyen and Zander Lombard of South Africa. Tony Finau had eight birdies to offset his share of mistakes to join them at 67. Of the top seven on the leaderboard, none has won a major. Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm powered their way to 69s, going for the green on short par 4s. Tiger Woods took out his driver one time and shot 71, a round slowed by a short putt he missed and a pot bunker he couldn’t avoid. But no one could go really low. The 31 players who managed to break par were separated by just four shots. “The golf course is great for me,” Kisner said. “The conditions have been fine. Going forward, you never know what you’re going to have in Scotland. I know the rain is coming in tomorrow. I don’t think the rain is going to affect how the golf course is playing in one day, but I have to just keep doing what I’m doing. If I have 22 putts the next three days, I bet I’ll have a pretty good shot.” Three of his housemates also were under par — PGA champion Justin Thomas (69), two-time major champion Zach Johnson (70) and Rickie Fowler (70). Another is defending champion Jordan Spieth, who was in range of the lead until he made one mental error and two bad swings while dropping four shots over the last four holes for a 72 that didn’t do too much damage. Even in gentle weather by Scottish standards, Carnoustie served up its usual dose of craziness. Padraig Harrington holed a short putt for par on the opening hole and turned to leave when he saw a golf ball trundle onto the green. It was the tee shot of U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka, who hit driver off the tee to set up an easy birdie. That was as easy as it got for Koepka for the next two hours. He shot 41 on the front nine. And then he shot 31 on the back nine. “The scores probably weren’t as low as we anticipated, but 1 over is not the worst,” Koepka said. “Definitely didn’t shoot myself out of it, which very easily could have happened.” Sergio Garcia hit a drive that never stopped rolling on No. 10 until it dropped over the edge of Barry Burn. The water was shallow enough for the former Masters champion to smash through a ball rock and water to get the club on the ball and escape without further damage. Carnoustie was not kind to everyone. Dustin Johnson, the world’s No. 1 player, managed only one birdie in his round of 76, his highest start in The Open since his debut at Turnberry in 2009. Masters champion Patrick Reed, Hideki Matsuyama, Bubba Watson and Garcia were all at 75 and now have to worry about just getting to the weekend. On the longest day — from Sandy Lyle hitting the opening tee shot at 6:35 a.m. and the group including newcomer Bronson Burgoon finishing off the first round nearly 13 hours later — everyone had their own style of getting around the course reputed to be the toughest links in golf. “Different players are going to have a different way to see how they’re going to play this golf course,” McIlroy said. “I know Tiger is out there hitting a lot of irons off tees and doing it his own way. No one’s going to argue with him — he did it like at Hoylake, and he was able to win there.” There’s one difference, Woods said. “Hoylake is flat. This is not,” Woods said. “And when Hideki hits a 3-wood 400 yards into a burn, you know it’s kind of quick. A couple of my 6-irons went about 240. It’s hard for people to understand it, but it’s just the nature of this golf course.” Kisner’s best score in three previous trips to The Open was a 69 in the final round last year at Royal Birkdale. The firm, crusty conditions are not entirely new. It reminds him of Palmetto, the Alister Mackenzie design in his hometown of Aiken, South Carolina. Not so familiar was his putting. Kisner, normally solid with his striking and his short game, has not contended since the week after the Masters, and he putted so poorly at the Greenbrier two weeks ago that he spent most of his time on putting when he arrived at Carnoustie. “Worked really hard on my speed, which is always the hardest thing for us to get accustomed to here,” he said. “And the ball started coming off on the line, and when I’m doing that, I feel like I can hole them all.”

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